an apple a day...

Holly really went to town on this apple I gave her last night! she spit the skin out all over, but she chomped away on it forever!

mahalo!

aaahhhh! our family really needed this get-a-way!

a few favorite pictures from our week in Maui...

home is where the heart is

yeah, we're moving again.
to make a very long story very short, turns out the guy we were renting from wasn't the real owner and he had stopped paying the real owners the house payments. so the real owners came after us with threats of a law suit and an eviction if we didn't pay them instead of the guy we are contracted with. we refused because it's not our problem, right? we had originally signed a contract with this guy, with the real owner's names nowhere on it, and we were going to honor it! besides, this guy was a lawyer! the owners had gotten themselves into this mess, it had nothing to do with us and there was no way it would hold up in court. what a mess! with continual harrassment, we finished out our last two months on our contract and found a new place to rent. it's smaller and we lost our breathtaking views and some great neighbors, but we really like our new house and our new landlords. the rent is less too, which helps when you don't have any source of income.




check out that stack of boxes! uuuggghhh! unpacking is drudgery!
well, at least the kids were entertained by all of the paper and boxes!

*UPDATE* my Great Race finish time

so apparently the race results are posted online and have been updated to .00 seconds.

let's get technical...
my NEW finish time is 29:59.55
yes!! under 30 minutes! I knew I could do it! :)

the Results are in...

I did it! My first 5k and I survived! It was so fun and great to be with friends. This will definitely not be my last time running competitively.
So how'd I do? My first goal was to finish faster than 30 minutes and I forgot to tell you about my other goal--no walking, just slow & steady and keep moving!
Well, I never walked and my time was...30.00 minutes.
Can you believe that??? 30 minutes on the dot! no more, no less. If only I had really run full throttle right at the end! just for a second!
next time...


[my picture is taking forever to upload, so I'll add it later]

the Great Race!

tomorrow's the big day! at 7:30am I'm running in the Agoura Great Race 5k, my very first race ever! I'm so NOT a runner and I've only been "training" (besides what many people have told me with a little chuckle, I most certainly DO need to train for a 3 mile race, thank you very much!!) for about 3 weeks. yikes! what am I thinking?? I'm thinking that it will be fun and great exercise, right? my friend Rebecca gave me the idea first and now I'm hearing about tons people I know who will also be running, so it sounds like there will be a lot of familiar faces.
Jason is also running the 5k, but I told him I don't want to run "with" him. I don't want to run beside anyone I know. I don't want to feel like I'm holding anyone back or (and I doubt this will be a problem) I don't want to BE held back by anyone. I want to feel free run at my own pace, that's all. I'm sure it would be special to cross the finish line as a couple and all, but oh well!
I wanted to have a goal for the 5k, so here's mine: I want to finish in 30 minutes or less. I'm not even sure that's realistic, but that's an average of 10 minutes per mile. surely I can do that, right? thinking positive thoughts......
wish me luck and I'll post my time tomorrow.

friday & saturday

friday and saturday of our spring break were fun, but unfortunately I needed new camera batteries, so I have no photos to share. Friday, my kids had a great time at "Fo-Fo Figgily's" which is a wild and crazy indoor play-place in Oak Park, for our neighbor's birthday party. Saturday, we ate lunch at the Simi Mall and shopped a little. Derek, my youngest brother, was in town from Bakersfield for the day, so he met up with us and we had fun getting caught up with him while the kids played.
That's it! Spring Break is over! We really enjoyed it and I think it was my favorite school break ever because I got to have Jason with me the whole time! I could get used to this early retirement thing...

thursday

If you haven't taken your kids to the Noah's Ark exhibit at the Skirball Center, find a day (Thursday's are free!) and go! Kate made reservations for our families and we had a great time. The exhibit is very interactive and artistic. The kids had to try everything in each room! I was happy Jason came with us because we had a lot of kids to keep track of.

wednesday

At the kids request, we returned to our old stomping ground and went to Simi to play at the "frog" park (verde park). Brady spent most of his time running back & forth on the wobbly bridge, Holly loved the swings, and the girls were climbing trees & pushing each other down the slides...a perfect day at the park!

tuesday

Our family joined the rest of the Clinton side of the family at Gullwings Children's Museum in downtown Oxnard. It was very hands-on and really kept the kids busy for a long time! It's small enough to not lose track of the kids, but big enough to have several different stations including crafts, dress-up, fish aquariums, a live reptile/insect house, a rock-climbing wall, a play hot-dog stand, and lots of spaceship replica stuff. We had a great time and it was definitely worth returning to in the future. After the museum, we ate lunch at Pepe's burrito stand down by Silverstrand beach...yum!

SPRING BREAK!! monday

A trip to Zuma beach in Malibu was the perfect starter for our Spring Break week. The weather was awesome! Brady kept throwing sand up the in the air and then running away to avoid having it land on him. He must have done it about 20 times in a row! I thought it made for a pretty cool picture.
Holly's first time actually getting to experience the beach! (last year she was a newborn and confined to her carseat) She ate a TON of sand and was very content to hang out on the blanket and watch the kids play around her.
Beach cuties basking in the sunshine!

Easter Sunday

We had a wonderful Easter Sunday. Baskets in the morning including new spring dresses (and gloves!) for church, great sacrament meeting talks, then Easter dinner at our house with the Clinton side of the family and my dad (my mom was in Kentucky with Brandi). It was a nice day with beautiful weather and good company.
Holly snuck her first piece of candy (a SweetTart duck) while I was taking too long trying to get the perfect picture of her with her Easter basket. She loved it!

Bakersfield Weekend!

The sisters had our Girl's Weekend, so of course the brothers needed a guy's weekend or "Gentlemen's Annual" as they call it. They planned it during March Madness basketball tournaments and were able to attend several games. Dad, Trevor, Ginger, Jason, and Derek...Rod missing :(

Since all the boys were crashing at my house, I had to pack up my kids and find somewhere else to go for 3 days. Thankfully, Natalie invited us to Bakersfield! The kids swam & played and Nat introduced me to the exciting world of canning meat! She did all the work and I got to come home with tons of bottles of chicken and pork! I also bottled pancake mix and Kraft Mac 'n' Cheese. I'm so glad Nat showed me how to use my pressure cooker for canning and now I need to get to work! Anyone want to join me??

Our fun in Bakersfield didn't stop there...a friend of Natalie's invited us all to a private viewing of the new movie "Enchanted" at her amazing home theater! complete with leather recliners, a popcorn machine, a candy counter, and a soda machine! It was so fun and so cool! The babies weren't very cooperative, but the other kids loved it.

On Saturday, brave Natalie helped the kids dye and decorate easter eggs. She had a very cool kit which had "foil" sheets that made the eggs look really unique.
Thanks for a super fun weekend Nat! You were the perfect hostess, like always. I loved getting to hang out with you and I hope we didn't cause too much craziness for you!

Little Green Men

We were the target of a little bit of leprechaun mischief overnight! When we woke up this morning, the girls discovered little green footprints and shamrocks drawn on their faces and arms where the leprechauns had been "dancing" on them. Then we saw that the house had been turned upside down and inside out! The couch cushions were thrown around, the kitchen chairs were on the table, the bathroom towels were in the kitchen and the kitchen towels were in the bathroom, the girls' school shoes were in the microwave, and the milk had turned green! At least the sneaky little guys had thrown their gold chocolate coins around and left us with St. Patrick's Day cookies and a giant box of Lucky Charms!
Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We believe in being Honest...

Erin and her 2nd grade teacher Mrs. Burnside

Way to go, Erin! She was chosen as Student of the Month and as a student who demonstrated the "Core Virtue" for February, which was "Honesty." She was very excited to be recognized in the school assembly today. She couldn't stop smiling! :)

the ABC's of Ginger

Melinda tagged me!

A- Attached or Single? very much attached...almost 9 years married!
B- Best Friend? see above...my husband, but my sisters are a close second!
C- Cake or Pie? my Gramma's lemon jello cake
D- Day of Choice? Friday, usually date-night
E- Essential Item? my iPhone. like a tiny portable computer!
F- Favorite Color? Red
G- Gummy Bears or Worms? hmmm, neither. cinnamon bears...yum!
H- Hometown? Moorpark
I- Favorite Indulgence? Cheesecake Factory Raspberry Lemon Cheesecake
J- January or July? July
K- Kids? 3 daughters and 1 son and counting... :) woah! simmer down, that DOESN'T mean I'm pregnant!
L- Life isn't complete without? knowledge of the Plan of Salvation
M- Marriage date? May 22nd
N- Number of brothers and sisters? 4 brothers and 6 sisters, plus 11 in-laws!
O- Oranges or Apples? Apples
P- Phobias and Fears? I don't do scary movies! I can't even watch the previews!
R- Reason to smile? my family's upcoming trip to Maui!!
S- Season of choice? Summer--beach weather!
T- Tag three people? ________ insert your name here as desired
U- Unknown fact about me? I have a niece named after me--Ginger Dee
V- Vegetable? asparagas
W- Worst Habit? procrastinating!!
X-ray or Ultrasound? x-ray for a broken leg, lots of u/s during pregnancies
Y- Your favorite food? Mexican
Z- Zodiac Sign? Scorpio

Boing!

Look at those springy curls! When Aunt Brandi is in town, she's always ready to orchestrate an extreme makover. Erin was lucky enough to have Brandi work her magic on her heavy, straight hair that I never do anything with. Brandi wrapped it in a billion sponge rollers perm-style and in the morning Erin was transformed into Shirley Temple! It was pretty funny and quite a change! By the end of school it had relaxed a lot. Erin said that she got lots of compliments from friends and teachers. Super cute, Erin Kate!

Girl's Weekend 2008

I look forward to it all year, counting down the months, then weeks, then days. Now it's over and it was fantastic. I loved it all...the laughing, the crying, the talking and talking and talking! That pretty much sums it up! I loved having a few days with my sisters and my mom. We did whatever we felt like from hour to hour...something that never gets to happen in real life! (frankly, getting back to real life afterwards was pretty rough!) I was lucky enough to be the hostess this year, but my sisters came from all over...Washington (Heidi), Kentucky (Brandi), Idaho (Wendy), Utah (Jen), and California--Bakersfield (Natalie) & Fresno (Summer). My mom and Kate live within 10 minutes of my house. We missed Amber who teaches high school in Utah. She's never been able to attend! Let's hope she'll make it next year. We were able to have Monica with us for Friday night dinner at the mall and for a drop-in on Saturday evening. That accounts for everyone! It's so fun to be together. I always learn so much from my sisters' experiences that they so willingly share. They are women I trust and admire. The love and support I feel from my sisters is so comforting and a great blessing.
(sigh) Only 11 months and 3 weeks until our chat fest resumes...

We were so happy that Gramma Z was able to join us on Sunday evening! It was a great visit. She has such a sharp memory! Prompted by a few questions from us, she was able to relate her memories of growing up during the Depression and her experiences as a child. She is overflowing with so many stories and so much background information about our ancestors. It was fascinating and I was thankful that we were able to capture her memories on video. I know the recording will be valuable as the years go by and we really need to do this again!

All I want for my birthday is a job.

sorry Baby, I can't help you with that, but I'll make you some cupcakes with blue frosting! how's that? happy 31st!

Mammoth Snow Trip!

Oh, we had so so much fun on our trip to Mammoth! Our friends, the Gredings, have a family cabin and we were lucky enough to be invited up for a few days along with two other families. There was no snow on the roads when we arrived on Wednesday night, but then it snowed non-stop after that, and contined even as we were leaving on Saturday afternoon! It was so incredibly beautiful outside! I spent a lot of time staring out the window at the amazing view of the mountain and the snow-covered trees. The boys went skiing/snowboarding and the ladies stayed close to the fire inside with the kids, venturing out occasionally. Our last day there, we put Erin and Jenna in an all-day ski class. It was so cool to see them all dressed up, complete with goggles!
Here are a few favorite pictures out of the billions I took. I am just now noticing that Holly and I didn't make it into a single one! :(

Thanks for an amazing snow get-away Dave and Rebecca! We loved it!

Oh sweet mystery of life at last I've found you....!

That title was for all of my fellow "Thoroughly Modern Millie" fans! Sing it girls!
I got tagged to answer these questions about my significant other. What a perfect day to reminise about how it all began...

What is your hubby's name? Jason, but I never call him that…it’s mostly Baby, Babe, Hon, or Daddy
How long have you been together? Married 8 years this May but we started dating in the fall of 1995.
How long did you date? Almost 2 years—1 year before his mission and about 10 months after he returned.
Who said I love you first? Jason
Who is taller? Jason by a foot!
Who is smarter? Jason is book smarter, but I’m pretty good with the stuff we need to know for raising babies. We balance each other well!
Who does the laundry? 99% me (He did two loads last week.)
Who does the dishes? 100% me
Who sleeps on the right? I always sleep on the side closest to the door/baby, usually the right side.
Who pays the bills? 99% Jason. I pay my Gap credit card bill myself.
Who mows the lawn? Jose y sus amigos…???
Who cooks dinner? 100% me
Who drives when you are together? 100% Jason
Who is more stubborn? Jason
Who kissed who first? He says it was him, but I remember it being me. I wanted to hurry and get over that “first kiss” akwardness!
Who asked who out first? I invited Jason to a young adult dance in Camarillo. Soon after, I asked him out to dinner at Woodranch with some friends. He threw up on the 10 minute drive home…it was awesome. I thought he would never want to go out again, but we started dating after that!
Who proposed? Jason
Who has more siblings? I do—4 brothers and 6 sisters. He has 2 sisters.
Who wears the pants? I’d like to say Jason does, but I’m sure he let’s me have my way more than I realize.
I love you Baby!

I'm tagging Shannon, Heidi, and Poppy.

100 days!

Jenna has been in Kindergarten for 100 days! Her teacher sent a note home asking the parents to have their child dress up in something 100-ish for their celebration, but I guess I took it a little too far...Jenna came home and said she was the only one with marker on her face and kids on the playground kept staring at her. oops! The best part is that I unknowingly chose a non-washable marker so no matter how much I scrubbed, her eyebrows stayed pink for days! hee hee!

Jason gets to sleep in!

hey, in case you were wondering...it's official. Jason got layed off today from his job at Countrywide. yep, it finally happened. we're not too worried about it and he's got a few months of severance pay to find a new job, so it's all good. I bet he won't miss hitting the snooze button 3 times at 4am...

Lady Liberty

She's much cuter than the real thing, don't you think?

January birthday bash

We had a great night celebrating the birthdays of Grammie, Luke, and Brady (we missed you little Ginger, Nicolette, and Jen!) at Kate and Mark's house. With such a large family, we have to do a once-a-month birthday party. Brady was happy to be the center of attention again!

Brady sandwiched between cousins Tyler and Carson (almost 2yrs). They're twins...obviously!